Goal: Provide essential surgical care and establish a sustainable breast cancer screening initiative.
Details:
This mission to Ghana focuses on delivering high-impact surgical interventions to low-income individuals suffering from chronic, untreated conditions. Our primary surgical objectives include the repair of hernias and hydroceles—conditions that are highly prevalent in Ghana but often remain untreated due to financial and geographic barriers. We will also address disfiguring soft tissue conditions that carry significant social stigma.
Crucially, this mission marks the introduction of a dedicated breast cancer screening program. In Ghana, breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, often due to late-stage presentation. Our team will provide clinical screenings and education, with the ultimate goal of establishing a pathway for breast surgery in regions currently lacking these specialized services. By combining immediate surgical relief with long-term preventative screening, we aim to bridge the gap in specialized care and lay the groundwork for a permanent surgical resource in the community.
Goal: Targeting the most vulnerable, underserved, and economically disadvantaged.
Details:
This project serves low-income individuals in rural or peri-urban areas of Ghana who are currently excluded from the specialized surgical system.
Who will benefit: The primary beneficiaries are subsistence farmers, laborers, and women in underserved regions. This includes men suffering from debilitating scrotal hernias or hydroceles and women who currently have zero access to breast health monitoring.
Why this population: We target this group because they represent the "missing middle" of Ghanaian healthcare. While some urban centers have surgical facilities, the cost of travel and the surgeries themselves are prohibitive for this population. In Ghana, the rate of elective hernia repair is significantly lower than the actual incidence, leading to a massive backlog of symptomatic cases. Furthermore, we are targeting regions with a documented lack of breast cancer pathology and surgical services to address the extreme geographic disparity in cancer care. By offering these services for free, we ensure that the most vulnerable patients—those most likely to suffer from late-stage complications—receive the life-altering care they deserve.
Goal: Restore physical health, economic stability, and long-term wellness.
Details:
The expected impact of this trip is multi-faceted, focusing on both immediate relief and long-term health outcomes. By providing these surgeries free of cost, we remove the primary barrier to care for the "surgical billion" who lack access to safe, affordable treatment.
Clinical Outcomes: Immediate repair of hernias and hydroceles prevents life-threatening complications such as incarceration or strangulation, which carry high mortality rates in rural Ghana.
Economic Restoration: Many patients are currently unable to participate in the workforce due to the physical limitations of their conditions. Successful surgery allows these individuals to return to work, providing for their families and contributing to the local economy.
Preventative Milestone: The breast cancer screening program will identify early-stage cases that are currently going undiagnosed, significantly improving 5-year survival rates.
Educational Legacy: Our presence will include knowledge sharing with local health workers, ensuring that the impetus for screening and surgical referral continues after our return.
Our summer 2026 Ghana Make a Difference surgical mission was a great success. Over a 5 day course we performed a total of 79 hernia repairs. Many of these patients had suffered pain and disabilty from their hernias for over a decade. In addition to the surgical procedures, the inaugural breast screening clinic was a success with 12 women showing up for teaching, clinical breast exam, and 12 breast ultrasounds were done.
